Local stocks surged in 2024
Biggest local winners: CommScope, SPX, Wells Fargo
The following article appeared in the Jan. 6, 2025, edition of The Charlotte Ledger, an e-newsletter with smart and original local news for Charlotte. We offer free and paid subscription plans. More info here.
Top local stocks of 2024: CommScope, SPX, Wells Fargo
The stock market had a big year in 2024, and some local stocks of interest had big gains, too.
If you hold stocks in your retirement plans, you’re likely to see some healthy gains for the year when you take a look at your year-end statements, because the major stock indexes were all up double digits:
NASDAQ: ⬆️ 29%
S&P 500: ⬆️ 23%
Dow Jones Industrial Average: ⬆️ 12%
Of the 22 stocks with local ties tracked by The Ledger, 15 rose in value in 2024 (not including dividends). The biggest gainer on a percentage basis was Catawba County-based CommScope, a provider of communications technology equipment, whose stock rose 85% in 2024. That feat might be made easier to achieve because it started the year at a low price — $2.82. It rose in the second half of the year thanks to stronger-than-expected earnings and a deal to refinance its debt.
Other big local winners included Charlotte-based industrial manufacturer SPX Corp. (⬆️ 44%) and, lo and behold, Wells Fargo (⬆️ 43%). Wells is based in San Francisco, nominally, but is one of Charlotte’s largest employers, with 27,000 workers here.
The local stock that dropped the most in 2024 was of Charlotte-based door and window supplier Jeld-Wen (⬇️ 57%), which has suffered from the slower-than-usual housing market. Others with big declines included Charlotte-based clothing retailer Cato Corp. (⬇️ 45%) and Charlotte-based chemical manufacturing company Albemarle Corp. (⬇️ 40%).
Here's The Ledger’s full list of local stocks, with end-of-the-year closing prices and the percentage returns for 2024:
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